Raphael

Creator of The School of Athens, a Renaissance master renowned for grace and harmony.

Life

Urbino

Raphael was born in Urbino; his father was a court painter. As a youth he trained in Perugino's workshop, then went to Florence to study the techniques of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and became famous for his many Madonnas.

Madonnas

In 1508 he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II to paint frescoes in the Vatican Palace; among them, The School of Athens gathers Plato, Aristotle and other scholars of ancient Greece in one scene. He also directed construction of St. Peter's Basilica and the preservation of ancient Roman ruins.

School of Athens

He died in 1520 on his thirty-seventh birthday and was buried in the Pantheon.

Legacy

Raphael, together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, is counted among the "three masters of the Renaissance," and his style became the model for academic painting for centuries afterward.

Major works & achievements

• The School of Athens
• Sistine Madonna

Did you know? The Plato in The School of Athens is said to have been painted with Leonardo da Vinci's face.

Key dates

• 1504Arrives in Florence
• 1508Arrives in Rome
• 1511Completes The School of Athens
• 1514Directs construction of St. Peter's Basilica
• 1520Died